Top in 2022 nephrology: Drinking coffee corelates with lower risk for AKI

Adults who drink large amounts of coffee are less at risk for incident AKI compared with those who never drink coffee.

“Our data support chronic coffee consumption as an opportunity for cardiorenal protection through diet, particularly for the prevention of AKI hospitalizations or procedures,” Kalie L. Tommerdahl, MD, of the department of pediatrics at the Children’s Hospital Colorado and University of Colorado Anschutz Medical Campus in Colorado, and colleagues wrote. “Larger studies evaluating the effects of coffee consumption on kidney perfusion and oxygenation in individuals with impaired kidney function at high risk for AKI, as well as the effects of coffee on anti-inflammatory and antioxidant outcomes, are necessary to fully explain its potential cardiorenal protective effects.”

It was the top story in nephrology in 2022.

Another top story covered the 7-2 vote in which the U.S. Supreme Court overruled a lower court ruling supporting higher dialysis payments to DaVita Inc.

“The question in this case is whether a group health plan that provides limited benefits for outpatient dialysis — but does so uniformly for all plan participants — violates the Medicare Secondary Payer statute,” Justice Brett M. Kavanaugh wrote in delivering the opinion of the majority. “We agree with petitioner Marietta and the United States as amicus curiae that the answer is no.”

Read these and more top stories in nephrology below:

Greater coffee consumption correlates with lower risk for AKI, compared with no coffee

Compared with individuals who never drink coffee, those who consume a large amount of coffee are at a lower risk for incident AKI, according to data published in Kidney International Reports. Read more.

Supreme Court overturns lower court ruling supporting higher dialysis payments to DaVita

The U.S. Supreme Court has overturned a lower court ruling on a lawsuit filed by DaVita Inc. against a hospital system in Ohio claiming its health plan discriminated against employees requiring dialysis care. Read more.

Rosuvastatin shows higher risks of hematuria, proteinuria, kidney failure vs. atorvastatin

Compared with atorvastatin, rosuvastatin is associated with increased risks of hematuria, proteinuria and kidney failure with replacement therapy, according to a study. Read more.

Organ donation, transplant rates increase during motorcycle rallies

An analysis by Harvard Medical School and Massachusetts General Hospital researchers shows steep increases in organ donations and transplantations take place during large motorcycle rallies. Read more.

Kidney stones, CKD connection unclear, but clinicians collaborate on treatment

It did not take long for nephrologist and kidney stone specialist David S. Goldfarb, MD, FASN, to realize that the buildup of pain radiating from the right side of his abdomen was from a kidney stone that had begun its downward migration. Read more.

National efforts underway to address well-being, burnout among nurses

Efforts in Congress and among national organizations are underway to help nurses address burnout and mental health, a speaker said during the Nephrology Nursing Practice Management and Leadership Conference. Read more.